Open A Flowers First Bloom

[Tsuji Tamiko]

[ C H A P T E R - I ]
Petals dance softly against the breeze. . .
​

Thoughts: Italics
Speech: #FFA0AB

Gently clutching a basket filled halfway with various peonies and asters in lovely shades of crimson and lavender - Tamiko continued to window shop as the sun slowly set and shadows began to dance on the glass and walls of the quieting street. The day had felt slow until now. The fading sun ushering in a sense of hurry and dread. Tamiko had found sleeping to be an elusive luxury at night, plagued with thoughts of the past year and the events that had shaken her conviction in herself. "Don't be silly girl; you did what you could." The words danced in her head - a gentle reassurance she tried to internalize but her heart struggled to follow suit. Taking a quick glance to the roof tops and the skyline she let out a soft sigh and set her pace back towards the gates so that she could make her mother dinner and begin preparations on the flower arrangements for further botany lessons with her recently discovered cousin and forever confidante, Kohana. These lessons were a source of quiet joy, a connection to the natural world made even more special by Kohana's shared interest for the beauty of nature. Another added benefit were the hidden clan secrets to further enhance the medicinal properties of flowers, roots, tubers and leaves. Poison was a troublesome topic to consider, she was a good-natured person and the thought of inflicting that sense of pain on others did create pause - but this was a world of shinobi... A world rife with tragedy and death, to not utilize all means at her disposal was foolish and brash at best - and throwing her life away at worst.

She glanced down at the basket in her hands. Gently gliding - her silhouette swaying softly and her thoughts coming and going like the soft floral scents emanating from her basket. What was it like to meet a shinobi of renown? Who had faced death and destruction in ways she could not yet comprehend? How did they handle the ghosts of the past, do they bear this weight like armor - or like chains? In the quiet moments did they ever waver and lose sight of what truly mattered? The packed dirt path continued to lay before her. She realized she had stopped, lost in thought and unaware of her surroundings. The winds of fate open to beginnings.

[MFT] [394 Words]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Was it a matter of the winds of fate that created such beginnings? Or was it rather the direction one took; a forest path may seem forthright and intentional, but step off the beaten track, and one sees the vague impressions left by animals and people stumbling through the brush, choosing their own direction and taking a gamble on the fortunes to be found. The forest was, at times, unpredictable, implacable, and in Keiyaku's opinion, that was the philosophy by which most shinobi ought to live their lives and practice their ninja way. It was perhaps that philosophy which led him to the Oak District on a particular afternoon, not with any intention of buying anything - he rarely frequented the place, or even carried money - but he wasn't one to ignore the temptations of fate. Well, it may have less been the temptation of fate, so much as a certain little Shiba Inu nipping and biting at his heels, forcing him in the direction of the district.

"Really, Moru? Again? Okay, I like manga as much as the next guy, but every time they announce a new issue, you just gotta get down there?"

Morutobu gave a loud whine and a grunt, which Keiyaku seemed able to interpret as perfectly coherent speech.

"Yeah, yeah, cheaper to preorder, I get it," he said, with the air of conceding a well-made point to an annoying little brother. Moru happily pranced down the street, but a strangely familiar scent left Keiyaku momentarily diverted. A flower shop. It wasn't as if he had a particular need for a bunch of hyacinths, but he recognised the different species he saw up for sale. After all, he lived, almost full-time, in the woods, sleeping out amongst the foliage, and living off the land when he wasn't on a mission, but there, he saw it. A hibiscus. The kind his late father kept around the house for a superstitious sense of good fortune. Staring at it, he approached slowly. Those ghosts still haunted him, but the scent of that flower made his shoulders slump, bringing peace to him in a way he couldn't quite describe.

"Don't usually see these in the shop. They grow kinda far out," he said to whom he thought was the shop assistant, but when he turned his gaze, he realised it was a young, brown-haired girl, kimono-laden and carrying a basket of blooms. Keiyaku cleared his throat awkwardly.

"My bad. Carry on."

 

[Tsuji Tamiko]

[ C H A P T E R - II ]
"Hope can bud in all places. . ."​

Thoughts: Italics
Speech: #FFA0AB

"Hm?" Jolted suddenly back to reality by the voice in her proximity, she turned to look over to the source. Despite her being so deep in thought she realized she had registered what the tall boy had said to her - peeking over at what he had been referring to. "Ah, the hibiscus. A pretty summer bloom. They are edible y'know - tart like a subtle lemon and packed with Vitamin C." She gestured to her basket and took a couple steps forwards before reaching into the inside of her kimono and pulling out a small glass bottle and with a satisfying "pop" loosening the cork and then beginning to fiddle with the contents of her goods. She first reached low and grabbed some of the peony root taking care to brush off any remnants of soil before rolling it between her fingers and loosening it before taking small chunks and placing them into the bottle - she then repeated the steps with the aster petals before corking the bottle again. She paused briefly and arched her back so that she could look up at the face of the boy and then down to look at the cute puppy that accompanied him. She didn't want to assume, but noting the marks on the cheek - was he perhaps a member of the Inuzuka clan? She remembered from class that they were fierce melee fighters.

She nodded gently and then reached out both hands up to him and presented the little bottle. "Here if you'd like, this combination can help greatly with problems of the lungs or minor stomach issues. Make it into a tea or turn it into extract and diffuse it." Taking a second to point down at the pup she resumed speaking, "Be careful though as peony can be toxic to dogs." Another pause - taking the time to listen to the breeze through windchimes that decorated the street. "Pardon my forwardness mister - but I must know. Do you live with regret?" Her tone had shifted - gentle and open. Never afraid to confront the question or shy away from awkwardness. "My grandmother - she was murdered and I was just too late to stop it. I'm... Nervous about what comes next, what my path forwards is - and if I can have the confidence I need to do the right thing when it counts." Her eyes betrayed nothing, she hoped she wouldn't weird this stranger out but finding one's path always begins with an action of courage.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

The man smiled at the girl, rather impressed with her botanical knowledge, particularly where it came to their medical and nutritional benefits. Keiyaku couldn't help but let a smile cross his lips.

This one is Yamanaka, for sure. The eyes, for one thing; her scent is so floral, too.

Not that Keiyaku knew many of the Yamanaka clan personally, but his clan and they were among the oldest in Leaf and, as such, shared close diplomatic ties. The Inuzuka and the Yamanaka had a special relationship, both of them having cultures devoted to nature, so, while Keiyaku's primary source of knowledge was on wildlife, he still knew a fair bit about living off the land and knew how to survive out there; it wasn't uncommon for members of his clan to sleep or even live full time out in the forests surrounding the village.

"Yeah, that's right; I take hibiscus in my tea a lot. But, I can't always get my hands on them," he said, tenderly stroking the petals of the flower with a clawed finger, admiring its colours. It took him a minute to notice the girl's bottle as she held it up, raising an eyebrow and examining it curiously.

"You're a sweet little thing," he laughed, shaking his head and refusing it; he had no need of the stuff, and surely she might make better use of it, given that the Yamanaka often sold their herbal remedies commercially, at least as far as he knew. It was the next question that rather caught the older man off guard, though. Again, he found himself regarding the girl with a curious eye as she delved into matters of tragedy in her family.

Not shy about sharing with strangers, is she?

"Murdered, was she? I'm guessin' that's why you became a shinobi," mused Keiyaku, glancing at the headband tied daintily about her right shoulder. A Genin, he guessed.

The mention of a 'dog' briefly took him unaware, but then he realised what she meant.

"Oh, this is Morutobu; my little brother," he explained, and the Shiba dog beside him bowed his head respectfully to the young shinobi, as if showing deference to a colleague; clearly he fully understood the conversation so far, for he was no ordinary dog. He laid on his back, showing his belly to the young girl, his tail wagging lazily.

"Do you regret stuff? Ain't it just human to live with regret? Tell me, if she wasn't murdered, would you be here today? Would you have worked as hard as you probably have? Seems like she died to give you a whole future."